When enterprises think about scaling their internet connectivity, the usual approach is straightforward: buy more bandwidth from ISPs. But as traffic grows—driven by cloud apps, video platforms, and collaboration tools—this model quickly becomes expensive and inefficient.
There’s a smarter solution: connecting to an Internet Exchange (IX) or using VLAN-based multi-campus links.
What is an Internet Exchange (IX)?
An Internet Exchange Point (IXP) is a physical location where networks—ISPs, CDNs, cloud providers, and enterprises—interconnect directly to exchange traffic using BGP (Border Gateway Protocol).
Instead of routing all traffic through your ISP’s upstream providers, you can directly exchange (or "peer") traffic with major platforms like Google, Meta, Akamai, Netflix, or other ISPs connected at the IX.
This means that for popular services hosted on these CDNs, your network traffic can reach them directly through the IX, reducing hops, improving latency, and lowering bandwidth costs.
How IX Shapes Your Network
- Directly route traffic to major CDNs and cloud providers like Facebook, Google, AWS, Netflix, or Microsoft, bypassing multiple upstream ISPs.
- Reduce latency and improve performance for end-users accessing popular applications.
- Lower transit costs, as traffic exchanged via IX is typically cheaper than paying for full upstream ISP transit.
Why Enterprises Should Care
1. Cost Savings
- Normally: 100% of your outbound traffic → paid transit via ISP.
- With IX: A large portion of traffic to platforms like YouTube, Instagram, AWS, or Microsoft flows directly over the IX at a much lower cost.
Example:
- A university with 60 Gbps across two ISPs.
- 70% of traffic = social media, video, cloud apps → all available at IX.
- If shifted to IX, ~42 Gbps can be offloaded.
- Transit savings: If ISP transit costs ₹250/Mbps → savings = ₹1+ crore/month.
2. Performance
- Direct routes mean lower latency and fewer hops.
- Students or employees get smoother video calls, faster app access, and better user experience.
3. Scalability
- IX bandwidth can scale flexibly as demand grows.
- Instead of constantly upgrading ISP links, enterprises can expand more efficiently.
Case Study 1: ISP + IX Connectivity
+----------------+
| Internet IX |
| (DE-CIX, NIXI) |
+----------------+
|
+-------------+ +---------------+ +-------------+
| ISP #1 |------->| Firewall / |<-------| ISP #2 |
| (Jio/BSNL) | | BGP Router | | (Airtel) |
+-------------+ +---------------+ +-------------+
|
v
+---------------+
| Campus Core |
| Switch/Router |
+---------------+
|
+---------------+
| Campus LAN |
| |
+---------------+
All external connections (ISP links + IX port) terminate on the Firewall/BGP router. Routing policies determine which traffic goes via the ISP or IX. Internal users connect via the campus LAN.
Case Study 2: VLAN-Based Multi-Campus Connection (Vadodara ↔ Goa)
[ Vadodara Campus ] [ Goa Campus ]
| |
+---------------------------+ +---------------------------+
| Firewall/BGP | | Firewall/BGP |
| (with ISP + IX Peering) | | (with ISP + IX Peering) |
+-------------+-------------+ +-------------+-------------+
| |
| VLAN over ISP MPLS / Private Backbone |
+----------------- 550KM ------------------------+
(Tagged VLAN / Layer 2 VPN)
Both campuses use the same ISP providing a Layer 2 VLAN/MPLS-based link. This allows private connectivity as if on the same LAN. Internal subnets and services can be seamlessly extended across locations.
Popular Internet Exchanges in India
| IX Name | Location(s) | Website | Remote Peering | Sample Members |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE-CIX India | Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata | https://www.de-cix.in/ | Yes | Google, Meta, NTT, Reliance |
| NIXI | Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai | https://ix.nixi.in | Yes | BSNL, Airtel, Tata, Vodafone |
| Extreme IX | Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai | https://www.extremeix.org/ | Yes | Facebook, Akamai, Netflix |
| AMS-IX India | Mumbai | https://www.ams-ix.net/ams-ix-india | Limited | Microsoft, Cloudflare, Oracle |
| AMR-IX | Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh | https://www.amr-ix.net/ | Yes | YouTube LLC , Facebook, Pi Datacenters |
How to Get Started
- Identify the nearest IX to your enterprise location (e.g., DE-CIX India, NIXI, Extreme IX, AMR-IX).
- Check remote peering options — many IXs allow connections even if you’re not in the same city.
- Talk to your ISP about VLAN/MPLS options to extend IX reach.
- Set routing policies in your firewall/router (e.g., Palo Alto PA-5450) using BGP with IX peers.
- Measure and optimize — track how much traffic shifts to IX and how much bandwidth you save.
Conclusion
Connecting to an IX is not just for ISPs anymore. Enterprises with heavy internet use—universities, corporates, OTT platforms—can save significantly on transit costs, improve user experience, and future-proof their infrastructure.
If your enterprise is still only buying raw bandwidth from ISPs, it’s time to rethink. Peering and VLAN-based inter-campus connectivity are strategic moves to reduce costs, improve performance, and scale efficiently.